After completing the Ciudad Perdida trek, Jens and I were ready for some R&R by the beach again, and we did not want to travel very far from the trek’s end point in Santa Marta; so in the same spirit that we chose El Rodadero to stay in at before our Ciudad Perdida trek, we chose another near-to-Santa Marta beach town – Taganga – as our post-Ciudad Perdida destination. Visiting Tayrona Park from Taganga is quite easy to do via the many boat-based excursions to Tayrona’s beautiful beaches. Jens and I reasoned that staying here would give us the benefit of some beach time, R&R and excellent seafood (Taganga is a fishing village), as well as being close-by to Tayrona Park in case we wanted to visit after the Ciudad Perdida trek.
Taganga is a fishing village that has turned into a laid back beach-town popular with both foreigners, locals, and ex-pats. There’s still a great deal of fishing that happens in the village, so it’s a wonderful place to get seafood. Its proximity to Santa Marta as well as Tayrona Park makes a wonderful basecamp for visiting both locations. Compared to staying in Santa Marta, Tayrona is cheaper, has a wonderful beach, and you can get seafood fresh from the boat at a much lower cost than in Santa Marta. The town is also a key location to visit Tayrona Park by sea – as boats visiting Tayrona Park’s beaches leave daily from Taganga’s main beach. Sea-based visits just to Tayrona’s beaches have the added benefit of not having to queue up to purchase park entry tickets early in the morning at one of the park’s land-based entry points.
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Contents:
- Transportation
- Accommodations
- Dining
- Tayrona National Park
- Playa Cristal
- Playa Cinto
- Trip costs for 3 days and 2 nights in Taganga, Colombia
- Final thoughts on visiting Tayrona Park from Taganga, Colombia
Transportation:
Taganga is just a 15 minute drive North of Santa Marta or a 20 – 25 minute collectivo ride (approximately $1USD or 4000 COP) depending on traffic. The village is situated closer to Tayrona Park than Santa Marta and also a launch point for many boat-based excursions to the park.
Accommodations:
Accommodations are typically cheaper in Taganga than Santa Marta. Jens and I got a private room at Hostel Casa Roma – just a few blocks from the beach with a rooftop pool for just $23USD a night including breakfast.
Dining:
There are a variety of different dining options in Taganga from inexpensive low-key eateries right by the seaside to more upscale eateries on the beachfront. Some of these beachside local eateries can also cook any fresh-caught fish you might buy from a local fisherman for a small cost – so do feel free to enquire! Note that the inexpensive eateries catering more to locals close at 7pm, so do pick your evening dining options early (see map for locations). For a more upscale dining experience Pachamama Restaurante Bar offers local and western cuisine right on the beachfront.
Tayrona National Park:
Tayrona National Park encompasses an area of approximately 30KM2 of maritime area, as well as 150KM2 of land ranging from the ocean to the mountains in the Sierra Nevada of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The park has an extensive network of hiking trails as well as spectacular beaches. There are a limited number of tickets available into the park each day, and spaces can fill up quickly. Note that park hours are from 8am – 5pm with last entry from the land-side entry points being at 4pm. Park entry fees can be found on the official government website (https://www.parquesnacionales.gov.co/portal/en/ecotourism/caribbean-region/tayrona-national-natural-park) and can vary between high and low season. It was approximately 68,000 COP (approximately $15USD) for foreigners when Jens and I visited in the Spring of 2022. Arriving in the early morning ensures that you may be able to purchase an admission ticket to visit the park. All-inclusive tours including admission tickets and hotel pick-up from hotels in Taganga, Santa Marta and El Rodadero are also available, and feature guided hiking tours of the park plus beach time before bringing you back to your hotel.
Boat excursions to various beaches within Tayrona Park leave every morning from the main beach in Taganga. Given we had recently been on an extensive hiking tour, Jens and I opted to visit Tayrona Park by sea. Full-day excursions to visit multiple beaches range from 50,000 COP – 100,000 COP (depending on the number of beaches visited), and can be bought from various vendors on the Taganga beachfront the morning of the excursion. Jens and I purchased a full-day boat excursion from one of the beach kiosks that included visits to both Playa Cinto and Playa Cristal. Tayrona Park passes were not required to visit Playa Cinto and Playa Cristal by sea so that definitely made the visit easier. While the beaches were beautiful, note that the speedboat ride was extremely bumpy – as in one of the scariest boat rides of my life kind of bumpy. Most excursions will allow you to bring your own food and drinks in a cooler – inquire before-hand. Cooler rentals are available for 4,000COP ($1 USD + 16,000COP/$4USD refundable deposit) from most convenience stores near the waterfront in Taganga. Many well-reviewed excursions to Tayrona National Park also leave from Santa Marta just a short distance away including visits that explore Cabo San Juan as well as full-day sailing excursions that explore Tayrona National Park by sea, and also include activities like fishing.
Playa Cristal:
Playa Cristal is beautiful white sand beach located within the boundary of Tayrona National Park about a 1 hour speed boat ride from Taganga. Day trips to Playa Cristal started around 50,000 COP ($11USD at the time of writing in the spring of 2022) from the kiosks on Taganga beach and leave daily between 8am – 10am from the beachfront. Playa Cristal has excellent snorkeling right off the beach so make sure to bring some snorkeling gear to avoid renting at tourist prices on the beach. Playa Cristal has a few basic beachfront eateries, and you can usually readily get food and drink at tourist prices. Most day-trip excursion operators will allow you to bring your own cooler of drinks and food. Do note that depending on the time of year, the speedboat ride from Taganga beach can be quite rough.
Playa Cinto:
Playa Cinto is a much more secluded, but equally beautiful beach, about a 30 minute boat ride from Playa Cristal. Jens and I chose to do a combined excursion that included stops at both Playa Cristal and Playa Cinto which cost about $25USD per person (at Spring 2022 prices) purchased from a kiosk at the beach. Again the benefit of a sea-based excursion to some Tayrona’s beaches – like Playa Cristal and Playa Cinto – is that the park pass – which costs approximately $15USD is not required. We were told however that visiting Cabo San Juan does require the purchase of a park pass.
Trip costs for 3 days and 2 nights in Taganga, Colombia (2 people):
Accommodations: $45.25USD
Dining and Food: $78.00USD
Tayrona Excursion to Playa Cinto and Playa Cristal (for two people): $50.00USD
Transportation: $10.00USD
Total (for two people): $183.25USD
Total (per person): $91.63USD
Final thoughts on visiting Tayrona Park from Taganga, Colombia:
As many sea-based excursions to some of Tayrona National Park’s most beautiful beaches like Playa Cinto and Playa Cristal leave right from the beach in Taganga, visiting Tayrona Park from Taganga is very easy to do. In addition to its convenient proximity to Tayrona Park, Taganga generally has cheaper accommodation options than nearby Santa Marta, a lovely beach area, and excellent fresh seafood options as the village is a hub of fishing activity.